


Remedy

by kassandra_divina_trevelyan



Series: Wayhaven Monthly Contributions [3]
Category: The Wayhaven Chronicles (Interactive Fiction)
Genre: Anxiety Attacks, Cuddling & Snuggling, F/M, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-01
Updated: 2020-12-01
Packaged: 2021-03-09 17:55:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,175
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27810358
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kassandra_divina_trevelyan/pseuds/kassandra_divina_trevelyan
Summary: A small drabble of Roxy helping Nate weather out a storm while at her place. Warnings: Some mild, implicit mentions of anxiety/PTSD related to Nate’s fear of storms (also on Tumblr)
Relationships: Female Detective/Nathaniel "Nate" Sewell
Series: Wayhaven Monthly Contributions [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1998478
Comments: 2
Kudos: 13





	Remedy

Nate didn’t like the rain.

Too many reminders of his past pains lied inside dark clouds shutting away the sun, and he never felt quite like himself whenever it rained. Much to his chagrin, Wayhaven frequently experienced rainy days. 

Usually, the most the town faced was short bursts of drizzles, and Nate would be within the Warehouse, where he could drown out the noise. However, he should’ve expected that the rain would catch him off-guard one day, and it finally did. 

He was over Roxy’s place, spending time with her. She got off a long shift and texted him to come over. When he traveled there, he noticed the dark clouds lurking at the edges of the sky but did not fret over it too much. After all, why should he worry about a few shadows that would likely vanish when he visited his lover?

He spent hours in her company, fascinated by the things that entice lovers so. He was wrapped up in her touch, enamored by her whispers of sweet nothings and the warmth of her smile. Roxy became a different person when they found themselves alone, softer, and open. The world was no longer a weapon out to hurt her whenever he held her. 

Between the final sips of his third mug of tea, Nate’s mood seemed perfectly content until a rumble of thunder sounded outside Roxy’s window. His eyes warily glanced that direction of the window, taking in the droplets of rain beginning to fall, and his mood soured when hearing the dull thuds against the window. He knew a bad storm when he saw it, and the wind’s wanton howling warned him of the trouble soon to follow.

Nate cautiously set the empty mug down on Roxy’s coffee table, aware that he might unwittingly snap the handle off should he continue to hold on. He heard her bustling around the kitchen, fixing herself more to drink. He tried to get up but suddenly felt out of breath, and like his lungs were tied up in knots. Pain pierced his chest and flooded through, dragging him onto the verge of wheezing for breath. He was indoors, and yet the storm felt close enough that he could taste the ozone of a lightning strike and feel the wetness on his skin like tears rolling down his cheeks. Crimson on the deck, figures slumped out of his reach and unmoving, and the pain of paralyzed in place- 

Roxy walked back into the room with her coffee but nearly dropped it when she noticed Nate shaking. In her panic, she hastily set down her coffee mug and raced to Nate’s side.

“Nate? Nate, look at me,” Roxy pleaded, noticing him a bit ashen around the cheeks and his eyes dulling out like his thoughts were far away. She had been through enough training to recognize the physical symptoms that something was not right. She figured she should keep talking to him. "You’re shaking! What’s wrong? Is the storm bothering you?“

Her words shocked him back to reality somewhat; he hadn’t realized he was shaking until she pointed it out. Her hands slipped into his, but he could barely feel her fingers gliding against his own, instead suffering the discomforting prick of pins and needles along his palm.

"Apologies, Roxy,” Nate mumbled, sighing when her hands cupped the sides of his face. He averted his eyes off to the side, feeling embarrassed and ashamed for his reaction. He so rarely lost control of his emotions or his composure before her or anyone, for that matter. He felt vulnerable, exposed even.

“Hey, there’s nothing to apologize for,” Roxy assured him, tilting his chin down so he would look into her eyes. No hint of sternness or recoiling from him, but all the sympathy in the world. If anyone were to insinuate that Roxy Kingston didn’t have a heart, Nate would be the first to prove them wrong. She sighed, knowing the storm would be a while. “Can I take you back to the Warehouse?”

“I don’t think it would be wise to squeeze me into a car right now,” Nate’s voice strained, tellingly, and Roxy understood through the polite veneer of his words. _Don’t box me in._

She thought she would offer, but his refusal was enough for them to move along. 

“Okay.” Roxy pressed her forehead against his, tracing her lips with a ghostly touch down the bridge of his nose. Delicate yet insistent kisses peppered his skin as a distraction from the weather outside. "Tell me what I can do to help you, and it will happen.“

"Roxy-” Nate sucked in a shuddering breath, nudging his head closer to hers. Their lips brushed when Nate pulled Roxy onto his lap, craving the comfort of her presence. 

Somehow, her kisses helped him ignore the slam of the howling wind against the window. He drowned out the noises haunting him with Roxy by his side, but she considered her work far from done.

“Nate, c'mon-” Roxy whispered, lacing her hands with his and pulling him from the couch and toward her room. Nate didn’t fight her guidance, nor did he question her choices when she drew her curtains tightly shut to block the sight of the rain. She turned on the small, circular speaker seated on the end table next to her bed, and classical music softly leaped through and into the room.

Roxy’s calm, dark blue eyes searched his warm brown ones when she reclaimed his hands with hers. She offered him a spot on the bed, and she encouraged him to take off his shoes while she lit several candles scattered around the room. With the sight of the rain gone and the wind drowned out by the classical music, Nate felt himself starting to relax. 

He laid down on the bed and watched as Roxy stripped off her jacket to hang it on the hook behind her door. She pulled down her ponytail, shaking out her hair into the loose blonde waves that Nate loved so much. She fiddled with the sleeves of her shirt as she turned around, stepped out of her heels, and walked back to the bed where Nate lay. She quietly climbed on top of him and rested flat against his chest, eliciting Nate to wrap his arms around her. He swallowed thickly, feeling her heartbeat so calm and singing to him like a siren’s song.

“Roxy…” He whispered, feeling his eyes grow heavy as Roxy enveloped them under her blanket. Her hands sought out his face, gently tracing her fingertips across his stubble with a comforting admiration. In the low light of the dark, candlelit room, her eyes glimmered with the darkness of forgotten sapphires hidden in the bottom of a rustic mahogany chest- something so specific to his memory and somehow replicated in the stare of his lover. Her lips, painted a divine red, molded into a smile as she whispered to him-

“The storm can’t hurt you, Nate. Not while I’m here. It’s just harmless rain.”


End file.
